wildfire

American  

[wahyld-fahy^uhr] / ˈwaɪldˌfaɪər /

noun

1. any large fire in brush, forests, or open spaces that spreads rapidly and is hard to extinguish.

2. a highly flammable composition, such as Greek fire, difficult to extinguish when ignited, formerly used in warfare.

3. sheet lightning, unaccompanied by thunder.

4. the ignis fatuus or a similar light.

5. Plant Pathology. a disease of tobacco and soybeans, characterized by brown, necrotic spots, each surrounded by a yellow band, on the leaves and caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas tabaci.

6. Pathology Obsolete. erysipelas or some similar disease.

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wildfire British  

/ ˈwaɪldˌfaɪə /

noun

1. a highly flammable material, such as Greek fire, formerly used in warfare

2. 1. a raging and uncontrollable fire

   2. anything that is disseminated quickly (esp in the phrase spread like wildfire )

3. lightning without audible thunder

4. another name for will-o'-the-wisp

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wildfire Idioms  

1. see spread like wildfire.

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Etymology

Origin of wildfire

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wildefire, Old English wildfȳr; equivalent to wild + fire

Example Sentences

Now, more than a year after the Los Angeles wildfires, State Farm is charging them more than seven times as much for coverage that wouldn’t cover rebuilding costs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Chief fire officer Jonathan Dyson said the presumed cause was "a stark reminder of how quickly wildfires can take hold, particularly in hot, dry and windy conditions".

From BBC

When wildfires devastated Los Angeles early last year, the store transformed into a donation center.

From Los Angeles Times

Once a month, he’d cook some 400 hot meals that the temple would send to a homeless shelter in Stockton, and he’d also prepared food for people displaced by wildfires, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Now, a new federal bill with bipartisan support has been introduced to beef up emergency preparedness for pets in the event of natural disasters like wildfires or hurricanes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blaze
• conflagration
• flare
• flash
• light
• spark